OBJECTIVE: To describe the effect of design associated with a sample survey carried out to estimate the distribution of occupations within an economic active population. METHODS: A cluster sample of households, chosen from a comprehensive directory via systematic random sampling, was performed including 4,782 of all residences in Botucatu, Brazil, between June and July 1997. RESULTS: Of the 4,782 households, 17,219 subjects were assessed. Due to the loss of distribution heterogeneity of the occupations within the households, the effect of design found ranged from 1.00 to 1.96. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that when planning similar studies aiming at estimating the distribution of occupations among economic active populations, the effect of design should be estimated as e=1.50 for surveys in urban areas, and e=2.00 for surveys in rural areas.
Cluster sampling; Labor force; Residence characteristics; Occupations; Rural population; Urban population; Workers
